06/12/2013

Rats? Only a cat can bring order

Mexican activists, with a healthy sense of irony, have put forth a candidate for the July 7 mayoral elections in Xalapa, Veracruz state – Morris the cat.

In these videos, they call Morris ‘el candi-gato’ – a play on words that makes him a ‘candi-cat,’ rather than a candidate.

In one video, an interviewer off camera asks the cat what he thinks of various politicians in Xalapa, some of whom are considered “rats” because of their corruption. In each case, the cat pushes an item onto the floor. The other video is a sing-along with a “meowing” Morris.

Morris has already made Time Magazine’s website here, and has a Facebook page that lays out his platform: "Given the number of rats that lurk around these posts, only a cat can bring order. The 'candigato' promises nothing more than the other candidates: To rest and frolic."

According to a CNN iReport, he has more “likes” on Facebook (99,889, as of this writing) than three of the four main candidates running for mayor in Xalapa.

Veracruz is one of Mexico’s most beautiful states. But it’s also terribly corrupt and afflicted by organized crime. Nine journalists have been killed there in a little more than two years, and I chose it as the focus of one of a series of articles on Journalists under Threat in Mexico.